Ex-Wharton teacher found guilty of murder has teaching certificates revoked

A jury found Virginia Vertetis guilty of murder in Morris County Superior Court Monday. Prosecutors contended that Vertetis purposely shot Gilhuley at her Mount Olive home in 2014 out of desperation that he was breaking up with her.
Staff video by Bob Karp

Buy Photo

Defense attorney Edward Bilinkas and Virginia Vertetis watching Prosecutor Matthew Troiano's closing arguments in the Vertetis murder trial. Vertetis says she fatally shot boyfriend Patrick Gilhuley to death as he tried to beat and choke her at her Mount Olive home in 2014. March 30, 2017, Morristown, NJ(Photo11: Bob Karp/Staff Photographer)Buy Photo

The state Board of Examiners has revoked the teaching certificates of Virginia Vertetis, a former Wharton elementary school teacher found guilty of murdering her lover in her Mount Olive home in 2014.

She is appealing the murder conviction.

Vertetis was found guilty by a Morris County jury last year of the March 3, 2014 murder of Patrick Gilhuley. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison. At that time, the board of examiners began the disqualifying process. The board first gave Vertetis the opportunity to show why her teaching certificates should not be revoked.

Vertetis responded from prison and told the board she was one course away from earning a master's degree in administrative leadership, had passed the principal's exam and was planning to pursue a doctorate in administrative leadership, according to a board record.

She also informed the board the trial judge had prevented a lot of information from coming out at trial and that the weapon in question had belonged to Gilhuley. She told the board she had been attacked by the victim, was pursuing an appeal, and there were no indications the incident was related to her history as an elementary school teacher, the board record shows.

Vertetis also informed the board in writing that teaching was her life and she was tutoring general equivalency diploma students, the record states.

Now 56, Vertetis was given a chance to appear before the board to argue against revocation but did not, the record states.

The board of examiners, which oversees teacher's certifications, considered the information and recently found Vertetis had engaged in unbecoming conduct and revoked her certifications. The board found the Criminal History Review statute, which prompted the review of her certifications, was enacted to protect students from contact with dangerous people.

"In enacting the Criminal History Review statute...in 1986, the Legislature sought to protect public school pupils from contact with individuals whom it deemed to be a danger. Individuals convicted of crimes such as murder and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes fall squarely within this category. The strong legislative policy statement is also in accord with the Commissioner’s long-standing belief that teachers must serve as role models for their students," the board's revocation order states.

"In this instance, Vertetis’ conviction demonstrates behavior that falls far short of a role model," the board found.

Vertetis claimed at trial that Gilhuley, a 51-year-old retired New York City police officer, attacked her in her home and she shot him in self-defense. The jury rejected her defense and found her guilty of murder.